Hockey: NZ women celebrate tournament win

The New Zealand women's hockey team savoured a rare tournament triumph by winning the Champions Challenge in the United States today.

New Zealand beat South Africa 2-0 in the final in Virginia Beach, California, to taste tournament success for the first time since they won the Olympic qualifying event in 2000 in England.

The result guaranteed the New Zealanders a berth in the elite, six-nation Champions Trophy event next year in the Netherlands. They had lost Champions Trophy status last year.

New Zealand qualified for the final in California courtesy of a superior goal differential over England.

Top qualifiers South Africa were formidable opponents, having beaten New Zealand 1-0 during the round robin.

New Zealand kept their rivals in check throughout a scoreless first half before hitting the lead quickly after the interval when Canterbury midfielder Meredith Orr converted a penalty corner in the 37th minute.

They grew in confidence after that, increasingly making the play and forcing South Africa into a reactive role.

New Zealand effectively settled the outcome in the 48th minute when Wellington striker Niniwa Roberts-Lang scored her first goal of a tournament contested by countries ranked seventh to 12th in the world.

With player-of-the-tournament Lizzy Igasan prominent, the New Zealand defenders calmly repelled South Africa's advances from that point.

- NZPA